[AU] these are not the parts and poems of the body only, but of the soul

[from_the_outside]

They've all entered a kind of tense détente after the ill-advised dinner party. Tony throws himself into work, Sharon and Pepper mostly avoid each other, and Steve, Vision, and Nat continue with oversight duties.

And the thing is... Tony's working it out. 

Not a removal, exactly, but he's getting close, he'd told them, to at least blocking the commands. It's not perfect and it's not a permanent solution, but it's a step in the right direction. It's also a step in the direction of Tony needing to test the words on Bucky himself, and so Sharon and Steve are on extra high alert, keeping an eye out for any indication that Bucky's retreating into himself again. Sharon's mostly moved into the room they share in Steve's apartment for that very reason, though she still isn't wholly comfortable with being in Steve's space all the time.

He's away today, working with Sam and Rhodey on a veteran's outreach program, so it's Sharon who walks with Bucky through the halls of the compound towards Tony's rooms. "It's you and Vision with Tony today," she tells him, and glances across the distance they're careful to maintain when not alone behind closed doors.

"How are you feeling about everything?"

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky smiles and picks up the sleeve to help create another tower.

"Sounds good to me. Wanda?"

[from_the_outside]

"Okay," says Wanda, without much reservation. She collects the blocks and hands them to Bucky, looking a great deal more relaxed.

"'Game night' often seems to be a plot setting in the shows you enjoy, isn't it, Wanda?" Vision asks. "Although it usually seems to set up humorous situations more than center on the games themselves."

[nerves_of_ice]

"It is," Wanda agrees, as Bucky finishes stacking the blocks in the sleeve and sets the tower up on the table again. "And you're right."

She smiles. "But this is fun."

[from_the_outside]

"Maybe we can try to keep the wacky hijinks to a minimum," Sharon says, amused. "We already had some of those. Go ahead, Vision."

Vision approaches the game more cautiously this time, and looks relieved even though the chances of the tower falling on his very first turn are minimal. Sharon takes a deep breath as she waits for her turn, appreciative.

"That pie smells amazing," she says. "Much better than last time."

[nerves_of_ice]

"It really does," Bucky agrees. "Once it's done, how long do we need to wait for it to cool before we dig in?"

[from_the_outside]

"It should probably be about an hour," Wanda says, but she relents after a slightly disappointed glance from Sharon. "But really anytime. It'll just be kind of gloopy."

"Gloopy is okay," Sharon points out, nudging a block out and setting it on the top. "And we have that nice cream we can whip up."

[nerves_of_ice]

"True," Bucky says, reaching for his own block. He flips it over in his fingers, considering, and sets it cross-ways over the stack.

"That dairy farm was nice. And it was self-serve," he adds, casually. "Drive up, pick up things from the shelves, leave cash in the box on your honor. Pretty easy."

[from_the_outside]

"Gotta love small towns," Sharon says, and Wanda looks thoughtful.

"Nobody was there?" she asks.

[nerves_of_ice]

"Nobody at all," Bucky assures her, keeping his tone just as casual as before. "I can write down directions for you, if you want."

[from_the_outside]

Wanda glances at Vision, who gives her an encouraging nod. "That might be nice," she says, softly, and takes her turn. "Thank you."

"It's a nice drive, too," Sharon says. "If you like that kind of thing. And it looks like the lake nearby is pretty quiet, but there might be some nice spots to walk around."

[nerves_of_ice]

"It's not that I don't like it here," Bucky thinks to add. After all, he's a pretty large imposition on the Avengers, no matter how close a friend he is to Steve. "Or anything like that. It's just ... nice to get out, sometimes."

He's talking as he tries to place the next block, not paying enough attention to what he's doing, and whacks it right into the edge of the tower instead of placing it on top of it. Bucky swears in Russian under his breath as he watches it sway back and forth, holding the block in his fingers and waiting to see if the whole thing will settle or collapse.

[from_the_outside]

Wanda quickly lifts her hands to stabilize the tower as it sways, catching the whole thing in a net of glowing red power.

"Interesting strategy," Sharon says, amused, and Wanda blushes, a little. "We only just started," she argues, and carefully withdraws her power, leaving the tower standing.

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky's smile is quick and bright and somehow delighted. He sets the block neatly on top of the tower.

"Thanks for the assist," he tells her.

[from_the_outside]

She shrugs, but looks pleased. "These games are supposed to be for team-building, aren't they?"

"That's what I hear," Sharon says, and takes her own turn, keeping a leery eye on the tower's top as it sways.

[nerves_of_ice]

"From my understanding, they can be for many things," Vision observes, and places his own next block with deliberate care. "But it is enjoyable all the same."

"Which counts for a lot in itself," Bucky murmurs.

[from_the_outside]

"Definitely," Sharon agrees. "Actually, why don't we switch things up, a little, just for fun?"

Wanda gives her a cautious glance. "How?"

Sharon gestures to the tower. "What if we tried to build the most rickety tower possible that you can still hold up? And then when you let it go..."

She mimes an explosion with her hands. "Just for fun."

[nerves_of_ice]

Wanda blinks at her. "But I can hold a lot more than this," she says. "It's not heavy."

"That means we can build a really weird-looking tower," Bucky points out. "Just to see how ridiculous it can be, outside normal physics."

[from_the_outside]

"Just a thought," Sharon says. "It might be kind of fun to build a tower that goes horizontal instead of up."

"Why not?" says Vision, who always seems game to show off Wanda's capabilities. "Shall we give it a try?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"...okay," Wanda says, after trading a look with Vision. The ends of her hair begin to stir in a ghostly wind, and a halo of ruby light forms around the tower. "Go ahead."

Bucky grins at her, and places a block that juts out into space with only its end resting on the tower.

[from_the_outside]

Vision looks pleased, and places a block on top of Bucky's, leaning at a precarious angle.

"Nice," Sharon says, and takes a block from the very base of the tower, then rests it on it's edge rather than any of the flat sides.

[nerves_of_ice]

He can't help it. Bucky laughs at that, quick and clear, before balancing his next block on the edge of the one Sharon placed, like a seesaw on its fulcrum.

[from_the_outside]

Sharon's mouth twitches, until she sees the faint frown on Wanda's face. "What's up?" she asks. "This can't possibly be hard for you yet."

"No, it's not that." Wanda glances between her and Bucky and shakes her head. "I'm just... surprised that you're so friendly with each other."

Sharon opens her mouth, closes it, and glances at Bucky. "Well, we spend a lot of time together," she hedges. "So we've gotten to know each other. Personally, not just professionally."

[nerves_of_ice]

Compromised, an inner voice whispers. He smashes it flat with desperate strength of will, and nods agreement. Remembering the conversation at Tony and Pepper's dinner, he says,

"That's true. And Agent Carter knew Steve a little before, from when she was still with SHIELD. It helps."

[from_the_outside]

"Really?" Vision says, curious as he glances at Sharon.

"Really," Sharon confirms. "Although mostly he knew me as my undercover identity instead of as myself. I was his assigned protective detail, so we actually lived next to each other for a while in DC."

[nerves_of_ice]

He still needs to talk to Steve about that, somehow, but that's for later. Bucky's silent for a second, considering, then says, quietly,

"Also, Agent Carter went to bat for me with the Task Force, after I... after the Winter Soldier was activated here." He's careful to keep his tone casual and matter of fact, keeps the way he's holding himself relaxed. "She believed in me before I could believe in myself. It's hard not to trust someone after something like that."